Motorola announces first Zigbee gear

Plus: Linksys ships wireless 802.11b/g bridge; Netopia partners with Texas Instruments

• Motorola announced completion of the first chips, software and design guides for Zigbee, the draft specification of IEEE 802.15.4. Zigbee provides low-power, wireless network monitoring and control, transmitting data at 250K bit/sec at a range of less than 30 meters. Proponents plan to build Zigbee into a range of devices, including consumer electronics gear, PC peripherals, home and building automation systems, industrial controls, medical sensor applications, toys and games.

• Linksys recently shipped the Wireless-G Ethernet Bridge, a product that lets Ethernet devices such as network printers, gaming consoles, video cameras join a wireless 802.11b/g network. The bridge works without drivers, on any platform and operating system. It supports power over Ethernet, so you can mount it on the wall or ceiling far away from power outlets. The WET54G is available now and costs $179.

• Broadband equipment and software maker Netopia recently announced a partnership with Texas Instruments to develop an integrated Wi-Fi asymmetric DSL gateway. Netopia will integrate TI’s 802.11b technology on the motherboard of its Cayman family of ADSL gateways. Products will be available this month through Netopia’s service provider partners.